ANZ Bank wants to sell off its online broker platform

ANZ Bank is looking to sell off its online share trading platform in favour of a move to a third-party provider, the bank confirmed today following months of speculation. 

The bank rebadged the 18-year-old online stockbroker several months ago from E*Trade to ANZ Share Investing in what was widely speculated to be preparation for an eventual sale. 

The proprietary trading platform offers entry-level investors access to shares, EFTs, initial public offerings (IPOs), and options, among other things.

It is expected to sell for as much as ten times its earnings at $250 million.

ANZ pensions and investments boss Peter Mullin said moving to an outsourced model would allow the bank to give customers a "market leading share trading platform at a competitive price".

"As we have seen with ANZ's recent introduction of Apple Pay and Android Pay, the days of a bank needing to own every piece of technology are gone," Mullin said in a statement. 

"We believe we can achieve better outcomes for our customers by partnering with a specialist provider committed to the technology investment and product innovation needed to provide a world-class offering."

ANZ said the sale process would take several months to finalise.

The bank has been contacted for more detail.